ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY OF ACTION: A DISPUTE FROM PRACTICE. This article illustrates and problematizes a previously unformulated theoretical link between an anthropological approach known within European academia as transaccionalism and a disciplinary praxis self-defined as Interactive Applied Anthropology (IAA). It is of interest to demonstrate that while some assumptions and methodological considerations have been projected from this body of work into recent studies, others have differed in form and content with respect to the local socio-cultural dynamic and contemporary debates about how and why the social sciences are studied. The article is organized in three parts: the first presents a descriptive, analytical reading of transaccionalism in Chile with respect to the available works; the second presents the way in which local anthropology has supplemented/added to this body of work; finally, the relationship is analyzed in the third section through the creation and execution of a project motivated by collegial interest in participating in the policy-making processes of local government representatives.